Atlanta inclinata

Atlanta inclinata
Atlanta inclinata (specimen at the Natural History Museum Rotterdam)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Atlantidae
Genus:	Atlanta
Species:	A. inclinata
Binomial name
Atlanta inclinata J. E. Gray, 1850
Synonyms [1]
Atlanta affinisTesch, 1906 Atlanta aloysiisabaudiIssel, 1907 Atlanta inclinataSouleyet, 1852 Atlanta macrocarinataBonnevie, 1920 · unaccepted Atlanta megalopeRichter, 1961

Atlanta inclinata is a species of sea snail, a holoplanktonic marine gastropod mollusk in the family Atlantidae. ^[1]

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 7 mm. ^[2]

(Described as Atlanta affinis) The new species described here shows a great similarity to Atlanta peronii . Here, too, one finds a keel that reaches as far as the slit in the outer lip and thus fades away before the aperture. The keel penetrates between the whorls here—and quite deeply at that—so that more than half of the penultimate whorl is separated from the body whorl.

The shell is entirely flat and consists of six whorls, the last of which is by far the largest. The spire shows the same shape as in A. peronii but does not stand upright; instead, it is strongly inclined forward. This represents the essential characteristic of the species discussed here. Furthermore, the body whorl shows regular transverse stripes, particularly visible in empty shells, which sometimes give the impression of furrows even if they actually represent thinner parts of the shell between which wide, opaque stripes are situated. The aperture is low and egg-shaped, exactly as in A. peronii, with a deep slit in the outer lip whose edges do not diverge outward.

To a certain extent, this species represents a link between A. peronii, with which it shares the flat shell and the keel reaching deep between the whorls, and Atlanta lesueurii , whose transverse stripes on the shell appear in the same manner, though they also continue onto the spire itself. However, it is sufficiently distinct from both species.

The radula shows, on the whole, the greatest similarity to that of A. peronii. No essential difference is to be noted in the shape of the central plates. The intermediate plates are also structured very similarly, except that the outer spine—as found on the concave outer side of the plate in A. peronii—does not occur in A. affinis. The lateral teeth, which are equal to each other in size, do not reach the length of the intermediate plate at all; such a proportion is, however, quite common in the genus Atlanta.

The largest diameter of the shell in one specimen (an empty shell) was 7 mm; in most cases, however, it reaches 2–4 mm. ^[3]

Distribution

This marine species is circumglobal.

Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 0 m. ^[2] Maximum recorded depth is 150 m. ^[2]

References

1. Atlanta inclinata J. E. Gray, 1850 . 24 December 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
2. Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0008776 .
3. Tesch, J.J. (1906). Die Heteropoden der Siboga-Expedition. In: Weber M. (ed.) Uitkomsten op Zoologisch, Botanisch, Oceanographisch en Geologisch Gebied verzameld in Nederlandsch Oost-Indië 1899-1900 aan boord H.M. Siboga onder commando van Luitenant ter zee 1e. kl. G.F. Tydeman. Siboga-Expeditie Monographie 51. Retrieved 25 December 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

• Issel, R. (1907). Nuove specie di molluschi eteropodi raccolti dalla R. Nave "Liguria" (1903–05). Monitore Zoologico Italiano, Firenze. 18: 74-78
• Richter, G. (1961). Die radula der Atlantiden (Heteropoda, Prosobranchia) und ihre Bedeutung fur Systematic und Evolution der Familie. Z. Morph. Okol. Tiere. 50: 163-238.
• Jensen, R. H. (1997). A Checklist and Bibliography of the Marine Molluscs of Bermuda. Unp., 547 pp
• Seapy, R.R., Lalli, C.M. & Wells, F.E. 2003. Heteropoda from Western Australian Waters. pp. 513–546 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I. & Jones, D.S. The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop. Perth : Western Australian Museum Vol. 2.
• Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). [Checklist of marine biota of China seas]. China Science Press. 1267 pp.

External links

• Gray, E. (1850). In: Gray, M. E., Figures of molluscous animals, selected from various authors. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
• Eydoux, J. F. T. & Souleyet, L. F. A. (1852). Voyage autour du monde exécuté pendant les années 1836 et 1837 sur la corvette La Bonite commandée par M. Vaillant. Zoologie, Tome Deuxième. Zoologie. Paris: Bertrand. pp. 1–664. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
• Janssen, A.W. (2007). "Holoplanktonic Mollusca (Gastropoda) from the gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea and gulf of Aden (Late Holocene-Recent)". The Veliger. 49 (3): 140–195. Retrieved 25 December 2025.